I am scratchbuilding a bridge over Andersley yard, for access to LA yard and locomotive tracks. Here is the 'bare bones' of the bridge. Side walls, deck girders, etc. will be added shortly.
Alan, The bridge looks great, did you have a plan to use or did you build it from pictures? Also how did you make the concrete wall along the back of the layout?
Looking great, Alan. I figure that's the type of bridge Paul would like across his yard as well. Gary.
Gary, you must have been reading my mind but don't forget mine will be used to carry the mainline over the yard. I should have the rack alignment completed next week so you can come over and take some measurements
Very nice Alan! Please post some pictures when you get it done. PS. Are all those cars coming from the factory? (I love jokin')
The materials are styrene tubes for the support columns, and styrene for the below-deck girders (lot of work still to do), the deck is just a piece of white-faced hardboard, it will be concealed by the side walls, which will also be made out of styrene sheet. All styrene parts will be painted to represent concrete. The wall at the back distance is stone cours embossed styrene (Slaters), but is being replaced with the larger stone sheet, which can be seen in the SDF45 pictures, as the detail shows much better. More pictures as work progresses.
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Colonel: Gary, you must have been reading my mind but don't forget mine will be used to carry the mainline over the yard. I should have the rack alignment completed next week so you can come over and take some measurements <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> No mind reading required - you have made enough hints/requests to date! I already have an idea for yours... we'll discuss it when I drop down to visit. As for retaining walls, etc., I would suggest as Alan has done, or making poured concrete retainers. Gary.
Nearly done The bridge has had a first coat of 'concrete' paint, and the end buttress built. Just needs another coat of paint, and weathering, and the road surface completing. A couple of pics below, others on my Andersley Western website (link below in my signature)
Alan That bridge and back wall look great and I think I understand how you did it but in the last photo how did you make the brick wall??
Dick, the dressed stone wall is simply made with Slater's "Plastikard", embossed styrene sheet which is readily available here in all kinds and scales, stone, various brick styles, paving, etc. I still need to paint it with a grey/brown paint, then wipe most of it off again! This brings out the texture of the stone wall. Not sure there is a similar one in Evergreen. The concrete brige walls were made using styrene sheet, something like 30-40 thou, with the details in 10 thou laminated onto them. And a top capping strip of about 30-40 thou. The whole thing came together very quickly, and really makes a big difference to the yard area.
Alan, I hear lots of people have problems running Walther's doublestack cars. Are the ones in that one pic of the bridge Walthers, or Con-Cor? If so, what did you do to them to help them run better? (other than MT trucks/couplers)
Hemi, I think those are my three unit drawbar coupled set of stand-alone cars. I fitted MT trucks, (outer ends with couplers), and made drawbars from brass sheet. Cannot remember if I did anything else, but they run faultlessly. I also have a five-unit articulated set, and they would not run well, and kept coming apart. I traced the problem to the pins which hold the trucks on, and also protrude up for the next car to pivot on. The spigots on these were too short, so I made some new ones in brass on my lathe. They are shouldered, with a threaded portion to screw into the car, and the spigot for the next unit is long enough to stay coupled. Since then, I have had no problems with them, but I realise most people do not have access to a lathe
Alan, I am curious as to the grade of the ramp you have linking your upper and lower sections? It looks to be around 3% or more to me. Do you use to go both up and down, or is it just a down road? How long is the ramp, running long trains on a steep ramp would be tricky, especially intermodal trains with their tricky weights. The concrete bridge looks great, I have seen a similiar bridge that uses disposable razor handles as it's stanchions, it looked effective also.
Alan, I am also curious as to the weight of your spine cars and 89ft Flat cars? I will get first hand experience with both of these products next weekend when Paul brings his to the Brisbane Exhibition. The weight of your spine cars however, intrigues me. I run NMRA recommended weights in my rolling stock. The Auto racks are quiet weighty, approx 1.5 ounces or for the civilised 42.5 grams. This is worked out on the premise of 1/2 an ounce initial weight then .15 of an ounce per inch of length. So of course leads me to the question how do you get the weight in the spine cars? I use resin containers in my MDC well cars, I suppose I could modify some form of resin casting to make a 45ft trailer. looking forward to your reply. [ 27 April 2001: Message edited by: MRL Mick ]
Mick, the ramp is around three percent, and is part of the single track section of the main line, so is used for both directions. We can run 50-car trains without any problems, some with pushers. (Plenty of locomotives available) The grade is about 3 metres long, with a 12" curve near the top. The spine cars weigh 1 ounce per unit, according to the Model Railroader review, which is .1 ounce below the NMRA recommended weight. The weight comes from the fact that they are cast in solid whitemetal, and so run fine with or without loads, same for the 89ft flatcars (just weighed one and it is 2.5 oz. or 72 gms). My layout has 12" radius curves, canted, on three percent grades, and they all run fine over these.
Some pics in response to hemi's question about Walthers stack cars. (See above) The units coupled together, the brass spigot can be seen (must get them painted ) A better view with the units seperated The turned brass screw/spigot, and the unit ends. These run very well after the alterations. [ 27 April 2001: Message edited by: Alan ]
Alan, Thanks for the detail pix, but I'll bet my lack of a lathe will be no problem... How's about a tap, and a matching-sized screw, grind the threads off the top few tenths/inch, and paint it! That was the Walther's cars, right?
